Mistletoe Tales
by Reinamy
Summary: The holidays are a time for miracles, even of the romance variety. A love story told in bits-and-pieces.
1. ice-skating

**Title: **Mistletoe Tales _by_ Reinamy

**Pairing: **Kagome/Inuyasha

**Rating: **PG-13

**Warnings:** Modern AU, obscene amounts of fluff, language, romance-centric, abuse of italics, un-beta'd, etc.

**Summary:** The holidays are a time for miracles, even of the romance-variety.

**Disclaimer: **This is non-profitable fanwork. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's Note:** Drabbles/ficlets written for the 2014 December Fanfic Challenge (tumblr-originated), each inspired by a prompt. In an effort to keep this short, I've restricted myself to writing no more than 1000 words per chapter. Happy Holidays, everyone!

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_**Prompt:** 01 - Ice-skating | **Words:** 288_

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When Miroku suggested they accompany his girlfriend and her friends to the skating rink, Inuyasha dug his heels in. No way. He could think of better things to do than watch people make fools of themselves on a slab of frozen water. Which he _refused _to step foot on. Wearing shoes was distasteful enough without them being _used._

"Kagome will be there," his friend mentioned offhandedly, the sharpness of his gaze at odds with his placid smile.

"She's back?" he blurted.

"Mm. Returned yesterday. And from what I hear, she was the one to suggest the outing."

_You asshole, _Inuyasha thought waspishly. He folded his arms and glanced away, towards the window fogged from cold. A part of him still wanted to refuse—he _hated _being manipulated—but a much larger part was already looking forward to Sunday. Anticipation curled in his gut at the thought. It had been far too long since he'd last seen Kagome. Too long he'd been without her glowing smiles, her bright laughter, her pleasing scent. Too long since she'd last teased him, last touched him, last spoken his name.

Too damn long.

"I'll let them know you'll be coming, then," Miroku said cheerfully before sauntering out of the hanyou's bedroom, doubtlessly attuned to the promise of murder in the air.

With an irritated huff, Inuyasha flopped onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a moment his scowl started to fade and a grin took over. He knew he was being ridiculous but he couldn't help it. He felt giddy. In two more days he would see Kagome again. Nothing short of his bastard brother showing up could quell the exhilaration brimming beneath his skin.

Heck, probably not even that.

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**A/N: **To be continued.

By the way, Inuyasha and Kagome weren't involved in the past. They're strictly friends...who happen to be a bit touchy-feely with each other, not unlike how they are in canon. Thanks so much for pointing this out to me, NekoxUsa, and sorry for the confusion!

_Edited: 12/30._


	2. bundled-up

_**Prompt: **0__5 - Overly bundled up for the weather | __**Words: **__665_

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"You look like a giant marshmallow," Inuyasha told her, grinning.

Kagome was _here, _standing so close that he could practically feel the heat emitting off her, so close their fingers brushed every second step and he could smell the chocolate and mint on her breath whenever she turned her head to speak with him.

Inuyasha tried not to read too much into her actions but didn't quite succeed. It was hard _not _to when she'd barely left his side all day—except for when she'd ventured onto the skating rink and he'd remained behind, but even _then _he'd been the focus of her attention.

Inuyasha stubbornly refused to believe that it was a sense of obligation (or worse—_pity_) that kept bringing her to his section of the stands where she would lean against a rail, rosy-cheeked and bright-eyed, to pull him into a brief conversation before skating away again. He didn't want to acknowledge that her reasons for catching his gaze so frequently were drastically different from his own, or that her tendency to monopolize his attention wasn't so much deliberate as it was incidental.

He didn't want to lose hope.

He expected the smack against his arm and did nothing to avoid it, knowing that would frustrate Kagome even more.

"Are you calling me _fat?_" she asked shrilly, slate-colored eyes narrowing.

"Of course not. I'm only saying you _look _fat; there's a difference."

She raised her fist as if to hit him again. "No there's not, _baka-yasha_!"

"No need to get testy! I'm just pointin' out that you're wearing a stupid amount of layers, is all."

Kagome huffed and ran her hands down her white overcoat, as if by doing so she'd somehow look slimmer. Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing when it puffed out again.

"I was cold, alright?" she said, crossing her arms. It didn't quite work, and the look she shot him when she was forced to lower them could have melted tungsten. "It's stupid trying to dress to impress in this weather. I mean, the temperature is in the single digits! The wind velocity makes it seem like it's less! It would have been irresponsible of me to—"

Inuyasha couldn't hold it in anymore: he laughed. Watching her grow increasingly vexed while wearing what probably amounted to half a department store was _hilarious. _She really _did _look like a giant marshmallow—a marshmallow who looked ready to throttle him. He bit back his urge to tease her further and raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, sorry. You know I'm just messing with you, Kagome."

"You always are," she griped. "Couldn't you pick on one of the others sometime?"

Inuyasha wanted to say: _no,_ _because you're the only one who's worth the effort. I wouldn't feel half as satisfied riling anyone else up. None of the others react like you do. They don't argue, or retaliate, or forgive as easily as you do. _

_They're not _you_. _

What he said instead was, "It's your fault for blushing so prettily."

It wasn't even a lie.

As if on cue, the blush that already adorned her cheeks darkened. Inuyasha resisted the urge to lean in and press his lips against it to learn if the skin felt as warm as it looked.

"You're the absolute worst," she told him, smiling grudgingly.

Because he couldn't _not _do something, he settled for stepping forward and rearranging her unraveling scarf. He scoffed. "Liar. You adore me."

Inuyasha's breath stuttered when she looked up at him from beneath her dark lashes and shyly said, "Of course I do, Inuyasha. You're my best friend, you know. Even if you drive me absolutely crazy sometimes."

He tried not to feel overly disappointed when she leaned in and kissed him several inches away from where he desperately, _achingly_ yearned to be kissed.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said, feeling warmth rise to the patch of skin she'd bestowed her wind-cracked lips upon. It tingled. "Yeah, Kagome. Me too."

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_**A/N:** To be continued. Thanks for reading!_


	3. hot-chocolate

**A/N:** Thanks to those of you who took the time to comment and add the story to your favorites! Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

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_**Prompt: **__10 - Hot Chocolate | __**Words: **__715_

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"Aw, c'mon, Sango! It's still early yet! Why don't we grab a coffee or something?"

"No way," Sango drawled, ducking under the arm Miroku lifted to reel her in. She stuck her tongue out at him. "I've been perved on enough for a lifetime, thanks!"

As Miroku continued to wheedle Sango into going on a date with him and Sango procrastinated what everyone in their group knew to be inevitable, Inuyasha looked around. The street they were on was not one he remembered passing before. It was a quaint little nook dotted by small family businesses that was sectioned off from the main road and obscured on all sides by tall buildings. Little wonder it was so vacant.

Despite Inuyasha's best efforts not to glance over, his eyes had a mind of their own. Sometime in the last half-hour Houjo had managed to weasel into his and Kagome's conversation, wedge himself between them, and lure her away. Inuyasha would have thrown him somewhere if Kagome didn't look perfectly content being where she was.

(…or if he didn't genuinely fear what she would do to him if he pissed her off.)

Gods, but it was aggravating to watch, and listen, and hold back. Houjo was unsubtle as they came. Though Kagome never admitted it, Inuyasha was _sure_ she knew that his feelings towards her weren't exactly friendly. And yet she _still _hung around the guy. Which said two things, as far as he was concerned.

Either Kagome reciprocated the boy's feelings (which Inuyasha wouldn't bet on, but that might have just been wishful thinking with a heavy dose of denial on his part) or she just didn't care and saw no reason to change the way she interacted with him.

Both were troubling—the first for obvious reasons, but the second because it dampened his small hope that her behavior towards him meant he was _special _to her. It also put him in the uncomfortable position of likening himself to _Houjo_, which was. _Unbearable_.

Unwilling to listen to Houjo's pathetic attempts at flirting for a second longer, Inuyasha stuffed his hands in his pockets and stepped into the café he'd been eyeing. Upon entering he was assaulted by the cloying smell of coffee beans and chocolate, and barely managed to rein in a sneeze.

He stepped out moments later with two Styrofoam cups in hand, both steaming from the top. To his amusement, his friends were in the exact same spot he'd left them. Unfortunately that also meant that Houjo was _still_ trying to impress Kagome and was standing too damn close to her in the process.

Letting loose a soft snarl—which earned him amused looks from Ayame and Kouga—Inuyasha stomped over to the pair.

"—and I find that a good cup of coffee always does the trick," Houjo was saying with flailing hand gestures. "I know this great place that has—"

"Here," Inuyasha cut in, thrusting one of the cups towards Kagome. With a startled blink she took it between to mitten-clad hands and sniffed.

"Hot cocoa!" she exclaimed, looking up at Inuyasha in amazement. "How did you _know_? I swear I was just thinking that I'd kill for a mug of this!"

Feigning nonchalance even though inwardly he was swelling with pride, Inuyasha shrugged. "It's getting colder and you were shivering. I figured something hot might help. Besides, I know how much you like chocolate."

Inuyasha's insides liquefied at the beaming smile she sent him. "_Thank you_," she sighed after taking a sip. _"Mmm._ You even remembered the peppermint!"

"Of course," he said, fighting the urge to give Houjo a smug look, especially when the boy seemed to deflate with every word of praise aimed his way.

"Maybe we could reschedule the coffee thing," he determinedly suggested to Kagome.

While Inuyasha was reluctantly impressed by his tenaciousness, annoyance definitely won over. Which was why he took great relish in saying, "Kagome doesn't like coffee."

For a second it almost looked like Kagome was about to laugh, but when Inuyasha peered at her more closely her expression was neutral so he figured he must have imagined it.

"That's right, I don't," Kagome placidly agreed between sips. "The offer was appreciated, though."

"Right," Houjo sighed.

The hanyou smirked and thought, _Inuyasha: 2, Houjo: 0._

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_**A/N:** To be continued. Thanks for reading! _


	4. snow-fight

_**Prompt: **04 - A snowball fight | **Words:** 860_

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Despite Kagome's insistence that she was fine to walk home alone, Inuyasha accompanied her.

He was hyperaware of her body brushing against his as they trudged through the snow, swapping stories, reminiscing about the past, and speculating about the future. Her scent, always so airy and sweet, soured when the topic of her grandfather's declining health came up. Inuyasha hated the way she hunched into herself as if thoughts of the inevitable were a physical burden she bore alone.

Which wasn't true. She had her family, for one thing, and her friends who were as much as.

She had _him, _who would carry it all if he could. Or however much she'd let him.

They lapsed into silence as they turned a corner onto a secluded street.

Inuyasha watched her stare up into the murky sky from the corner of his eye and clenched his fists. It wasn't right. Kagome—she should be happy, smiling and laughing always. Not _this. _But there was little he could do to set it to rights.

He looked away.

_Humans are such fleeting creatures,_ he thought, his own mood dampening. He'd always wondered why when really, there were very few differences between them and demons and even less for the halfers like him.

One day Inuyasha was going to lose her. It was a thought he didn't often dwell on simply because doing so served no other purpose than to depress him. Even if Kagome were to accept his mark there'd only be so much power behind it. If he'd been youkai the bond between them could have easily prolonged her life to match his. As hanyou, he'd be lucky if she lived three or four centuries.

It wasn't long enough. Nothing short of forever would be.

_Keh, what am I doing? _he thought with frustration, kicking a mound of snow so hard it exploded into a cloud of glittering snow crystals. _I'm acting like Kagome's about to drop dead any day now._

Whatever happened, he still had now. Kagome was still here_, _still alive and healthy and whole. But not happy, because they were both too busy losing themselves in what was yet to come to appreciate the now.

An idea struck, and Inuyasha silently fell behind. He bent down and picked up a handful of snow from the ground—checking first to make sure it didn't contain fragments of ice—and molded it into a ball.

"Kagome?" he called.

"Hmm?" She turned around. "Inuyasha? Why are you—," she broke off to gasp as a snowball hit her in the center of her forehead, stuck for all of three seconds, then fell to the floor.

Kagome was gaping, and Inuyasha's face hurt from grinning so hard.

"D-did you just—"

He lobbed another rapidly crafted snowball at her. This time it landed on her chest. The two of them watched as it slowly slid down her coat, and then glanced up at each other.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said slowly, "would you say you lived a fulfilling life?"

"Huh? Why d'ya wanna know?"

"Because I'm about to end it," she said very, very sweetly, and then ducked to scoop up two handfuls of snow and charged.

A bark of laughter erupted from him as he bolted, fast enough to evade the snow being pelted at him but not so fast that Kagome couldn't keep up. They kept at it for nearly a half-hour, until the clouds burst and a soft flurry descended from the sky.

Kagome was rosy-cheeked and breathing hard when Inuyasha finally ducked out from behind the vending machine he'd been using as a barricade and closed the distance between them.

"Do you surrender?" she threatened, one arm raised.

Inuyasha turned away to hide his smile. "Keh. For now."

"Oh, thank god," Kagome breathed, letting her arm drop and the misshaped snowball to fall with it. "I'm beat."

"And yet you were gonna attack me anyway," he pointed out.

She smirked at him. "Obviously."

It was futile, trying to hide his smile from her when everything she did, and said, prompted it to widen. "Crazy girl."

"As if you'd have me any other way," she said confidently as she leaned into his front and closed her eyes. "C'mon, Inuyasha, let's go home. I'm about to turn into a popsicle."

"Can't have that," he murmured, then without thinking lifted his claw to brush a snowflake from her eyelashes. It did not go unnoticed the way she leaned into his touch, or the way Inuyasha's thumb was slow to part with her skin.

"What was that for?" she asked, slowly opening eyes that seemed to steal color from the sky.

He shifted. "Snowflake."

She nodded in understanding, then raised herself to her tiptoes and pressed a fleeting kiss against his face. Heat spread beneath the skin and like a moth sought flame, Inuyasha yearned to touch his branded cheek.

"What was _that _for?"

"For being you," was Kagome's ambiguous reply before she caught his hand and tugged him forward.

"Hey, Inuyasha? Thanks."

Though Inuyasha pretended not to know what she was thanking him for, when she tightened her hand over his, he squeezed back.

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**A/N:** _To be cont'd._

This was supposed to be a fun drabble, but somehow it only ended up that way. Probably because I had Kaoru Wada's _Fate of Awakening Love_ on repeat while writing it. Whoops. Anyway, thanks to everyone who has commented so far—I'm glad to know that you're enjoying it!


	5. singing-'n'-baking

**Disclaimer:** Lyric credit goes to Frank Sinatra for his particular 1948 version of the song, _Santa Claus is Coming to Town._

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_**Prompts: **#16 - Making cookies + #21 - Badly singing carols _

_**Words:** 270 (without lyrics)_

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"_You better watch out, you better not cry, y__ou better not pout, I'm telling you why: __Santa Claus is coming to town!"_

With no small amount of amusement Inuyasha watched as Kagome danced around the kitchen in a frilly, pink apron, using a ladle she held in one hand as a provisional microphone.

"_He's making a list, and checking it twice, h__e's gonna find out who's naughty or nice. __Santa Claus is coming to town!"_

"Aw, c'mon, sis! Christmas is still two weeks away!" When Kagome simply opted to ignore him—singing even _louder, _if anything—Souta turned pleading eyes in Inuyasha's direction.

"Inuyasha! Do something to make her stop! If _my _ears are ringing I _know _yours must be bleeding by now!"

"_He sees you when you're sleeping, h__e knows when you're awake…"_

Inuyasha turned away from the beseeching boy whose fingers were comically plugging his ears and gazed at the source of his agony. Kagome really _was _a terrible singer, there was no denying that. Hell, he's heard deaf people carry a tune better than she could. And yet.

"..._h__e knows when you've been bad or good s__o be good for goodness sake!"_

He couldn't help but grin when Kagome quirked an eyebrow and waggled a finger in his direction before winking and twirling away.

"I dunno," Inuyasha said absently, gaze riveted to the tantalizing sway of her hips as she danced to the counter, lifted a bowl of cookie batter, and started mixing. A bit of dough spilled from the rim and she scooped it up with her finger and popped it in her mouth. "She ain't so bad."

Souta snorted, then grumbled under his breath, "Ugh, I should've known you'd say that."

Inuyasha would have flicked the kid over the head for his cheek, but just then Kagome turned and blew him a kiss.

"_Thanks," _she mouthed, before refocusing her attention on mixing while continuing to sing at the top of her lungs.

Ears bleeding or not, this was definitely worth it.

"_OH! You better watch out, you better not cry, y__ou better not pout, I'm telling you why: __Santa Claus is coming to town…!"_

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**A/N:** TBC. I really love this one, short though it is. Thanks for reading, everyone!


	6. new-traditions

**Author's Note:** Has it really been a year? Wowsers. Well, the holidays are approaching, providing the perfect opportunity to finish this series (only a few more installments to go!). I'll continue to use the prompts from the _2014 December Fanfic Challenge_ until I state otherwise. Happy reading, everyone!

This update is dedicated to _Wenchester,_ who is awesomer than awesome.

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**Prompt: **#17 – New Holiday Traditions | **Words:** 324

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"Are you sure, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, possibly for the hundredth time that night. He needed to make absolutely sure that she knew what she was getting into before she subjected herself to the insanity that was Inuyasha's family.

His best friend sighed. "Yes, Inuyasha. I'm_ sure._" When he tried to argue she clamped a hand over his mouth and warned, "Don't."

He peeled her hand away. "Keh. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Inuyasha," Kagome said exasperatedly, turning to look herself over in the mirror. "You've been doing nothing _but_ for the past two days. Believe me, _I know."_

Resigned, the hanyou tossed himself onto her bed. A claw came up to rub at his face as he muttered, "I know I've said it a million times already, but it's because I _mean_ it. Listen, Kagome, my family…they're nutjobs. Which would probably be alright if they weren't _also _really awful people. I just…" he faltered, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "I just don't want them to…"

"I know," she told him quietly, sitting beside him and leaning into his side. "But I can take anything they dish out at me."

"You shouldn't have to."

"Neither should you," she stubbornly pointed out.

"Yeah, but they're _my _family. I-"

She never gave him the chance to finish. "And you're _mine. _Really, Inuyasha, did you think I'd let you go alone after everything you told me happened last year? No way."

Something warm and tingling washed through him, and for the first time in his life he was unimaginably glad that Kagome was human and couldn't hear the uptick of his heart. Unfortunately her eyes were still perfectly functioning, if unexceptional, so he had to duck his head to hide the evidence of his pleasure.

"I can handle it," he eventually managed.

"I know that. But you shouldn't have to."

His own words thrown back at him. He couldn't even pretend to feel annoyed.

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_**A/N:**__ To be continued. Thanks for reading!_


	7. holiday-dinner

**A/N:** Oh man, this is the _furthest_ thing from a drabble. It's not even a _ficlet_. I wasn't sure whether to post this because it totally screws with the structure of the story, but I liked it a lot and thought you peeps might like it too, so I uploaded it anyway. Let me know what you all think, ok? Anyway, happy reading!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to leave a review! You're all super awesome and ILY.

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**Prompt:** #9 - Ruining the Holiday Dinner | **Words:** 1,868

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The clan's annual holiday party was as unpleasant as it ever was. For hours Inuyasha was forced to listen to his pretentious relatives discuss nothing but _business this _and _stocks that _and _did you know so-and-so's daughter won the Japan Prize? _

Admittedly, it was a helluva lot better than being the focus of their attention. If Inuyasha had to listen to one more person make a disparaging comment about his career, his bachelorhood, his place of residence, or the people he surrounded himself with (that last one was usually accompanied by a sneer aimed at Kagome), he was going to kill someone. _Several_ someone's.

And Kagome was so ticked off she'd probably help him hide the bodies.

The instant his father declared the dining room prepared, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand and steered her inside. Dinner meant the stupid affair would be over soon, so the faster they ate the faster they could get the hell out.

There were seating arrangements, which Inuyasha ignored. No way was he letting Kagome sit at the opposite end of the table with a bunch of self-important, prejudiced youkai. He guided her to the seat next to his and sent a look around the table that _dared _anyone to start shit.

He then went about picking out the few meat items that weren't so rare they were practically still alive and plopped them onto Kagome's plate.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He waved it away, then speared a bloody pig shoulder for himself.

"So…Kagome, was it?" his great-uncle, Raiden, inquired.

"Don't be so familiar with her," Inuyasha snapped before Kagome could utter a word.

Raiden's wife, Kiku-something-or-other, _tsked_ at him as if he were a misbehaving puppy. Inuyasha bristled in indignation and very nearly hurled his silverware at her head. The only thing stopping him was Kagome's hand on top of his, anchoring him. Slowly, he felt his claws retract.

"Testy, testy," she said, curling her silver hair around her finger. "Really, behaving like this at your age. One would wonder how you were raised."

Inuyasha flinched.

Kagome's hand tightened over his.

"Kikuko," Inuyasha's father said. To a human's ear it probably sounded like mild chastisement, but for the hanyou and youkai in the room the underlying warning did not go unheard.

Kikuko subsided with a shrug, and Inuyasha glared at his plate because it wasn't _enough_. What that stupid bitch insinuated about his mother, about his father's _former mistress, _deserved more than a paltry slap on the wrist. But fuck if his dad was going to seriously defend Inuyasha's _human_ mother in front of the clan or anything.

_Traitor, _he thought, viciously stabbing his meat.

From beside him, Kagome seemed equally troubled, though she hid it well—certainly better than he was. Inuyasha knew it must be taking a lot of self-restraint on her part not to defend him, probably having realized it wouldn't help. She'd have more luck trying to redirect a storm.

Raiden cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. "As I was saying, Miss…?"

"Higurashi," Kagome supplied.

"Higurashi-san. What is it that you do?"

"You mean career-wise? Well, nothing as of yet, I'm still in school. Tokyo U," she elaborated at his prompting.

Inuyasha's uncle took on a faint air of approval. "Ah, an excellent university. What is it that you study?"

With a nervous smile Kagome answered, "I'm double majoring in Education and Mathematics. I want to be a math teacher."

"You must be pretty intelligent, then," someone—Inuyasha couldn't remember his name…_or_ how he was related to him, actually—commented.

"I'm only average, really," she demurred, modest as ever.

"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed, nudging her with his shoulder. "If you call maintaining a 3.8 GPA three years in a row "average" then sure, I guess you could say that."

The faint dusting of pink on her cheeks darkened to a brilliant red and Inuyasha grinned at her. He bit back a snicker when she elbowed him in the ribs and hissed at him to stop, clearly embarrassed.

"Which begs the question of how you and our…_darling _hanyou met," Kikuko cut in smoothly.

Inuyasha felt his ears flatten; he knew exactly where this was going.

"Kikuko," his father warned.

The youkai waved a dismissive hand. "Surely you are curious as well, Taiga-sama. The species disparity is…expected, if not entirely understandable. Inuyasha _is _your son, after all, and try as we might to forget, human blood does run through his veins." Her grin was as cruel as it was sharp, and when she glanced at Inuyasha her eyes held malice. "It's just inconceivable that two people with such little in common could be…_friends_."

"She makes an interesting point," that same unknown relative spoke up, shattering the pall of quiet that had descended over the table.

"Of course I do." Kikuko lifted her wine glass and brought it to her lips. "Higurashi-san is an aspiring woman of academia. Inuyasha couldn't even finish high school. He _carves_ _wood _for a living. I can't understand how such an unbalanced _friendship_ could work."

After a tense moment of silence Sesshoumaru murmured, "I find this topic of discussion distasteful." A pause, and then his eyes cut towards his half-brother. "Calm down, Inuyasha."

Kagome's nails were digging into his skin, but Inuyasha could barely feel them. His heart was pounding, his ears were ringing, and his blood sang with blood lust. Red was quickly seeping into the corners of his vision, and Inuyasha wasn't even trying to hold it back.

Sensing this, Kikuko ruefully shook her head. "No control to speak of. How unsurprising. My own _dogs _are better trai—"

It happened in slow motion. One moment Kagome was seated at his side attempting to restrain him, and the next she was standing, arm outstretched, the contents of her wine glass dripping down Kikuko's face.

"You talk too much," Kagome snapped, a thread of fury in her tone that made the hairs on Inuyasha's neck stand on end.

"Y-you—_how dare you!_" Kikuko hissed, face contorting in fury, and Inuyasha moved without thinking, one hand pulling Tetsusaiga from its sheath as he maneuvered himself to stand in front of Kagome and shield her from the inevitable attack, only to go still when a burst of power swelled from the woman he was attempting to protect.

Chairs screeched and clattered as the other youkai retreated to the opposite end of the room, eyeing the woman protruding such power with expressions that varied from wariness to rage. Only Inuyasha, whom the spiritual energy did not touch, and his father and brother, both as proud as they were strong, did not move.

"What's the matter? _Human_ got your tongue?" Kagome mocked, and if Inuyasha weren't so focused on the other youkai, on preparing to defend them both at a moment's notice, his jaw would have dropped.

"You're pathetic, you know that? You talk about Inuyasha, but look at you. Someone more powerful comes along and you cower in the corner like a _rat. _At least he's not a coward. Too bad the same thing can't be said for_you_."

Kikuko, eyes glowing crimson and lips peeled back in a snarl, wasn't able to so much as twitch before Kagome's spiritual energy—pink like the sky at dawn and just as whelming—intensified, forcing her further back.

"Pathetic," Kagome repeated, before turning to look at Inuyasha's father. She offered him a short bow, barely within the realm of polite, and gripped Inuyasha's elbow.

"Let's go."

Inuyasha allowed himself to be led.

He was forced to halt at the threshold of the doors when Kagome suddenly stopped, whirled around, and swept a scorching glare look across room. "You know what? I pity all of you for not seeing what's right in front of you. Inuyasha is _amazing. _He's strong, and he's loyal, and he's dependable, and he's clever, and he's the kind of person who makes the people around him _better, _just by knowing him. _You're_ the stupid ones for not being able to look past his blood to see that.

"Well, fine then. That's _your_ loss. You've had your chance, and you blew it, and he's mine—uh, _ours _now. And if I _ever_ hear any of you talking badly about him again, _I'll dust you."_

The threat hung in the air, so tangible it could be felt, and continued to hover even after she turned on her heel and stormed out, her spiritual energy whirling around her like tempest winds.

And Inuyasha could do nothing else but follow, drawn by her magnetic force.

Some minutes later, when they'd put enough distance between them and the compound to lower their guard and slow their trek, Kagome finally stopped, took a deep breath, and bowed.

"I'm sorry," she said, stunning Inuyasha into silence. "I had no right to intervene like that. Or threaten your family. Or say what I did. They just…made me so _angry_, Inuyasha. I couldn't think about anything other than giving them a piece of my mind and getting the both of us out of there."

She peeked up at him, eyes wide from under her dark, windswept fringe. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you, or made things more difficult for you. I—"

She fell quiet when Inuyasha pulled her into his arms with enough force to drive the breath from her lungs.

"Don't," he said thickly. "Don't you _dare_ apologize." Not for thinking him valuable enough to protect, important enough to defend, special enough to claim. Not for standing up for him, risking life and limb and reputation, when very few—including his own _family_—ever had.

_That's your loss, _she'd told them. _You had your chance and you blew it. _

_He's mine now._

Inuyasha gripped her tighter and buried his face in her hair. "Don't. I won't let you."

A moment of silence, and then a shaky laugh trickled to his ears.

"I'm so _relieved_ you said that, Inuyasha, because I'm actually not even a little bit sorry about telling them where to stick it. Man, that youkai lady was a real piece of work. I'd almost feel bad for her husband, except he willingly married her."

His lips curved without his permission. "Y'know, you were pretty scary back there."

"_Good_. Maybe next time they try to badmouth you they'll think twice."

"Probably not going to be a next time," he admitted, knowing it to be true. If his father wanted him to attend another dinner he was going to have to incapacitate him first.

Kagome pulled back, regarding him with eyes that so resembled the overhead sky.

"Are you alright with that?" she voiced hesitantly, because she knew him better than anyone, and understood that for all his posturing and complaining, Inuyasha really did love his family—some members certainly more than others—and had never quite grown out of his childhood wish to belong.

And yet it was surprisingly easy to say, "Yeah," and mean it.

"Okay," Kagome said, accepting him for his word. "You _will _let me know if they try to force you to go again, right? Because I'll—"

Inuyasha captured whatever threat she'd been about to make with his lips.

Above them, shapeless clouds broke apart to release an outflux of snow.

* * *

_**A/N: To be continued. Thanks for reading!**_


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